The study, released by the MetLife Mature Market
Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving and
conducted by Zogby International, found that the
long-distance caregivers are absent for an average of 20
hours per month.

According to the survey, the caregivers live an
average of 450 miles and 7.2 hours away from the person for
whom they provide care.
They spend an average of $392 per month, which includes
$193 on out-of-pocket expenses for caregiving and $199 per
month on travel.
More than half (51%) of those surveyed report visiting at
least a few times a month and almost half report they spend
the equivalent of one full workday per week tending to
their caregiving responsibilities.

More than four in ten (44%) say they’ve shuffled
their work schedules to accommodate their caregiving
duties.
More than a third (36%) report missing days of work.
Women are more likely than men to report missing work, but
just as many men as women report rearranging their
schedules to provide care, the survey found.

Despite living more than an hour away from a care
recipient, nearly a quarter (23%) of the caregivers are
the primary source of assistance for an elderly friend or
relative. More than half report that they provide care as
a helper to a sibling or other caregiver while the
sibling living closest to the parent is most often
identified as the primary caregiver.

“These caregivers not only overcome the distance to
care for their loved ones but also juggle work and
caregiving responsibilities,” said Sandra Timmermann,
director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
“Approximately 80% are employed and almost half are
changing their hours at work; a third miss days of work and
12% take leaves of absence from their jobs.
Employers should consider the impact that long-distance
caregiving has on workplace productivity and identify
solutions to assist caregivers so they can do their jobs,
tend to their own families and provide care for their
parents.”

Other study findings include the following:

Nearly three-quarters of respondents help their
loved one with instrumental activities of daily
living like help around the home, transportation,
shopping and meal preparation.

Women were more likely than men to report
switching from full to part-time work.

Only 99 of the 1,130 people surveyed, less than
10%, reported paying for services for their care
recipient.

Paid helpers were most important to those
long-distance caregivers who reported being the sole
caregiver.

The study, Miles Away: The MetLife Study of
Long-distance Caregiving, was conducted during the past
year, took place online. It included responses from 1,130
people met the criteria for a long-distance caregiver –
helping someone 55 or older during the past year who had
“chronic physical, cognitive or mental health problems”
and who lived an hour or more away.